Re: For Bobbie

[Guest guest]

Hi Bobbie:

Just wanted to add my two cents worth about progressive hearing loss. I

have a profound hearing loss at 34 which slowly progressed over a 30

year period. I am now planning to get a cochlear implant next summer. I

am post lingually hard of hearing. My 4 1/2 year old daughter was

diagnosed with her hearing loss at the age of 2. She was prelingually

hard of hearing. She was stable for a year and a half, but last summer

she started to show further loss. At my request, her school's

audiologist began to test her every two to three months and much to my

heartbreak, she dropped in many frequencies each time. In one year's

time, she went from moderately severe in both ears to borderline

profound in both. I am not sharing this with you to alarm you about your

child, but to alert you and others that a progressive loss can happen

very, very fast. If you have any doubts or if your child is not

vocalizing as much as she was, have her tested again soon.

On another note about testing... To get an accurate initial diagnosis,

we had to take our daughter to two different audiologists for behavioral

testing. The first one tested her twice and sent me a report that said

in part, " IF she has a hearing loss, it is mild... " I knew something was

up and couldn't accept her diagnosis because my child needed help, she

had only a handful of words yet was so interested in talking and

engaging people. So we went off to another audiologist, but this time we

went to a school for deaf children where they test deaf and HOH kids

everyday. What a difference! We got an accurate diagnosis with

behavioral testing and while I cried about it afterwards, it was a

relief as well. So, if you have an audie who can't seem to get a good

test out of your child, you may want to try another one, preferably one

who tests deaf and HOH kids every day. Had I known, my daughter would

have been aided a full three months earlier.

Best of luck to you,

a